Corey Crawford waited patiently while someone else occupied the crease he had worked so hard to claim.

When the Blackhawks goaltender got his chance to get back in it Wednesday night — against his hometown team — he made the most of it.

Crawford posted 20 saves to help the Hawks defeat the Canadiens 5-1 in an Original Six showdown at the United Center. It was the Montreal native's first start after watching six consecutive games from the bench as Ray Emery got the call.

"Our team has been playing so well, but I was pretty hungry to get back in there," said Crawford, who improved to 13-7-2. "It's a huge game before the (Christmas) break to pick up points. I was trying to get into it early just to get some feeling back. … I don't think I had to do too many big saves. It was a complete game by us."

Viktor Stalberg and Bryan Bickell each had a goal and an assist, and Andrew Brunette, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews also scored to give Crawford plenty of support as the Hawks (22-9-4) enter a four-day Christmas break with 48 points, the most in the NHL.

They rebounded in the second of back-to-back games after falling 3-2 to the Penguins in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and now have won six of seven.

Crawford and the Hawks defense allowed only Andrei Kostitsyn's goal and that wasn't nearly enough for Canadiens backup Peter Budaj.

After a scoreless first period, the Canadiens took the lead on a power-play goal from Kostitsyn. But the Hawks struck quickly to take the lead midway through the second.

First, Brunette carried the puck from behind Montreal's goal and sent a backhanded pass intended for Toews across the crease where it ricocheted off the skate of defenseman P.K. Subban and slid past Budaj.

The crowd of 22,081 still was buzzing when Sharp took a long pass from Marian Hossa, skated into the Canadiens' zone and put the Hawks in front just 21 seconds later with a shot from the slot.

"When we scored back-to-back (on) two shifts it made the difference," Hossa said. "All of a sudden we had more jump and we started controlling more of the game. We created more chances."

In the third, Stalberg made it 3-1 when he took a nifty pass from Bickell and rifled a shot in from the slot. Toews added an empty-net goal with just more than one minute remaining and Bickell sealed the deal in the final seconds.

Crawford, making his first start since Dec. 5, made an acrobatic stick save on Max Pacioretty in the second period that would have given the Canadiens a two-goal lead, and halted Erik Cole on a breakaway early in the third.